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Knowing your customers is more important than ever

How does your organization approach identity management? It is the chief information security officer's (CISO) responsibility to keep sensitive information and assets secure. At the other end of the spectrum, the chief marketing officer (CMO) is responsible for creating innovative and integrated marketing strategies that drive engagement. But the two departments have more in common than you might think. To improve the customer experience and offer personalized service, they need to realize they're on the same team and unite their efforts.

This isn't a trade-off—everyone can benefit. A more comprehensive approach to identity can help CMOs tailor relationships in ways that feel more personalized and responsive. The CISO can follow the same strategy to build security that is stronger and less obtrusive at the same time. The desired result? Customers enjoy better service all around.

To customers, it’s all one experience—or it should be. They don’t always see—and many don’t care about—the difference between the login steps that protect them and the engagement tools that help you offer more predictive, personalized service. But if any part of the process is a nuisance, or feels generic, security and service will likely both suffer.

Relationships are key. Consumer choice and commoditization of offerings mean what you sell does less to set you apart, while how you sell it does more. Becoming customer-centric is about more than adding tools. It’s a new way to do business.

A path forward

Identity is the foundation for customer-centric engagement and trust building. To enhance engagement beyond your organization’s four walls, you can start by solidifying engagement within them. It’s time for the CMO and the CISO to realize their functions are on the same mission, so their agendas, resources, and decisions can mesh.

At its simplest, the two teams need to talk with each other. Start with questions like:

Are we set up to start the user experience with registration?

Do we apply identity seamlessly from one channel to another?

Do we make security part of preference management and our digital customer experience strategy?

Are we ready to respond to a breach of private customer information?

How robust is our identity profile?

When your organization's approach to digital identity follows a person from touch to touch and channel to channel, your ability to use that identity to make sensible, context-based decisions increases.

Deloitte and IBM can help you make it happen

​​Transforming an organization's use of identity involves technology, but there's more to this challenge. It extends from core information security, marketing, and service functions to other areas such as governance, finance, culture, and even the business model. Bringing this kind of change to life takes more than just systems implementation. Deloitte can help you realize the intent of trust-based digital identity and translate it into experience and engagement. And with our understanding of the specialized tools IBM brings to this challenge, you can take advantage of end-to-end solutions that many single-track implementers aren't set up to match.

Start talking

The goal is a smooth-flowing experience that both the enterprise and the people it serves can enjoy. That’s an easy vision to articulate and a difficult one to make real. Together, Deloitte and IBM can help you reinvent the doorway that links you to the people you serve. It’s possible to give them a richer experience and enhance their loyalty while increasing the safety of access, data, and money. Let’s talk about how to begin.

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